Territory



(No Model.) E. H. TRAIN.

SHOE FASTENER. No. 275.295. Patented Apr.3,1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDGAR H. TRAIN OF HELENA, MONTANA TERRITORY.

SHOE-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 275,295, dated April 3, 1883.

Application filed January 24, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDGAR Hoaaon TRAIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Helena, in Montana Territory, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shoe-Fasteners, and of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of shoe-fasteners which consist of a series of hooks attached each side the opening, and with which a lacing is engaged, crossing the opening from the hooks on one side to those on .the opposite side, the object of the invention being to make the introduction of the lacing to the hook easy, and to secure it there when interlaced; and it consists in the construction of the book, as hereinafter described, and more particularly recited in the claim.

Figure 1 represents the fastenings as applied to the shoe and laced; Fig. 2, perspective view of the fastening detached; Fig. 3, section through the hook and upper, showing the hook as secured in place.

The book consists of a base, A, provided withprongs a it upon its under side, as seen at Fig. 2, by whichit may be attached to the shoe. The hook b is turned up from the base, bent over and down toward the base, as seen in Fig. 2. In transverse section the hook I) is concavo convex, giving to the hook great strength, and enabling the use of thinner metal than could be were it not for such peculiar shape. On the base, at each side of the mouth of the hook, an upward projection, d d, is formed, which leaves a cavity, 0, directly in front of the hook, as shown. The projections d d gradually die out toward the front, so that the cavity between them extends to the extreme front-that is to say, the base is in acontinuous plane from the hook and forward between the projections, and without obstruction in front of the hook, as in the Reeves patent hereinafter referred to-so that the lacing may be entered between the upward projection and the hook on one side, then brought around beneath the hook and projection on the opposite side, which makes a ready and convenient introduction of the lacing, and when in place the projections stand in such relation to the lacing that it cannot accidentally slip out of the mouth of the hook. An upward projection on the base around the mouth of the hook to prevent such engagement is not new, and may be seen in the patent of G. P. Reeves, No. 166,031; but in that construction the stop or choke forthe mouth of the hook extends entirely across the base, which makes it diflicult to introduce the lacing. My invention is therefore an improvement on this Reeves fastener by making the projection or choke at each side of the mouth of the hook, instead of extending it from one side around in front of the hook to the opposite side.

In the Reeves t'astener-the hook is made fiat in transverse section, which necessitates the making of the fastener from heavy metal. By making the hook concavo-convex in transverse section, the convex side toward the mouth of the hook, the hook is very much strengthened, and also gives a rounding surface upon which the lacing will bear, and avoid the wear upon the edges of the hook when made as in the Reeves patent.

I claim- The herein-described shoe fastener, consisting of the base A, provided with prongs for attachment to the upper, ahook turned up from and over toward the base, with an upward projection, d, from the base on each side, but so as to leave the base in a continuous plane from the hook between the projections to the opposite edge, substantially as described.

EDGAR HORACE TRAIN.

Witnesses:

Cats. I. TREMAINE, H. C. FERGUSON. 

